PLEASE Someone clear my confusion on ph!!!!!

[Green Tucan]

Ok my plants have a big ph problem now and I can never seem to get a direct answer no matter were I ask. Anyways I am growing in pro-mix bx and this is a "SOILLESS MIX". PLease answer these 3 questions.

1. How do I properly measure the ph of a soilless mix?
2. What ph should the water be that goes into my pots for a soilless mix?
3. What exactly should the soil ph of a soilless mix (Pro-Mix BX) be?

I know I have asked these questions in other threads but I get very confused because they answer with info that are for people growing in a soil mix and they tell me soil ph ranges for soil people and then other people tell me I need ph correct water at 6 because its soillles but some one else told me that this mix should be treated like soil. So can some one please answer my 3 questions correctly so I dont panic about doing the wrong thing with ph. I really appreciate your help guys. Im just a little confused from all the different feed back I heard. So please clear my head up.
(P.S if im thinking correctly dosent that mean I have to water with a ph of 6 in my mix? In order for me to find my mixes ph do I have to water with a ph of 6 and collect the run off water and measure that? Or do I have to water with a ph of 7 ( because its neutral) and collect the run off and measure that? And I only water with the ph of 7 when I want to know my mixes ph and then continue to water with a ph of 6 when its just regular watering time? Is my thinking correct? Jesus please some on clear up my confusion so I can save my plants.)

 

[inflorescence]

Outstanding info there^.
You can also just add an equal amount of a pinch of your promix to and equal amout of distilled water in a tupperware, let sit then measure pH.
If you didn't add additional dolomite lime to you promix your pH of your water/fert solution should always be higher than your desired range because the acidic promix will bring your pH down. It will never raise your pH.
You're also confusing pH with buffer capacity.
It took me a while to figure that out. research it.
Buffer and pH are related but only somewhat.

 

[Green Tucan]

thanks alot pureknowledge. I wish i could give you a joint. Anyways.... what should I do if my medium is too high? As a test few days ago i flushed one of my plants with a water ph of 5.9 and the run off came to 6.6 after I got done flushing with a water x2 the amount of soil. So now I know this is too high... what should I do to lower it? Should I just keep watering with a ph of 5.8 and eventually the medium will fix its ph? Or do I have to water with like a low ph of like 5 to bring it down and after i do that i resume watering with the 5.8? (p.s i think my soil ph got too high due to me watering with a water at 7.2 - 7.8 their whole lives and just recently like a week n half ago I got some ph down to lower my tap water and a good digital ph meter.)

 

[Core]

little advise on ph....ime taking runoff is't intirely accurate.......you should use distilled water and some same amount of the medium init.....stirr...lets sit for a few minutes and test that slurry....then you can speak of a accurate readings

 

[Blackvelvet]

To measure the PH of your mix, catch the drainage when watering into a bowl. Measure the Ph of this drainage. Also now is a good time if you have a TDS/PPM meter to see what the nute level is in your medium.

Not right. When you want to test pour through, you water really well till runoff. Then wait 1 hour. This lets the water in the mix reach equilibrium. Then apply a small amount of distilled water to the pot to "knock out" some of the water that has sat for 1 hour in the mix. Catch on a plate or saucer and test ph. A little distilled water will not alter the ph although too much can dilute the sample.

Excellent post PuReKnOwLeDgE.

 

[sativalicious]

Here's a decent link I found from a little Googling:

http://www.hydroempire.com/store/hydroponic-water-ph-control.php

It's a good read and hence clearly must have been plagiarized from some respectable author. If anyone can determine the text this excerpt is from, then the remainder of the book may be a good read too. Perhaps if we all called the company during the next few days, and politely asked, they will cite a reference to make the phone calls stop.